Shattered Mask
by Me Steal Lawilets Cake
Summary: Naruto's mask finally breaks, as he gets tired of being treated like trash, and he begins cutting himself to rid the pain. While helping a civilian, he passes out from lack of blood. Upon waking up, can his friends convince him that there are people who care about him? Further more, people that love him. Most likely will become SasuNaru. Plz Review. First fanfic.


**Story: ****_Shattered Mask..._**

**Summary: ****_Naruto's mask finally breaks, as he gets tired of being treated like trash, and he begins cutting himself to rid the pain. While helping a civilian, he passes out from lack of blood. Upon waking up, can his friends convince him that there are people who care about him? Further more, people that love him._**

**Disclaimer: ****_I don't own Naruto..._**

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"Damn it!" Naruto shouted, pounding the wall with his fist as he entered his room. Why was it always like this? The villagers were as scared and loathsome as ever. Sasuke and Sakura were putting him down just like they did every day, and Kakashi wasn't helping him one bit. Nobody was listening. Nobody could understand, nor did they_ care_ to understand. He was alone in the world. Alone.

Something suddenly gleamed from the corner of his eye, snapping him out of his thoughts. Gazing down at the floor, he spotted a Kunai. He smiled sadly, for it was not like anyone would notice if he came to the bridge all cut up. It pissed him off that despite everything he'd done for them, they still continued to treat him as though he was the Kyuubi itself. He may have been a half demon, but he was also a half human. He had emotions just like any villager did. He could feel pain, and loneliness just the same, and it hurt so bad that they didn't see that.

Picking up the Kunai, he put it's sharp blade to his wrist. Pushing it deeper into the flesh, he watched as crimson liquid oozed out of the wound and trickled down his arm. At first he winced at the sting but after a few seconds, it strangely had a good after-feeling. He did it again, and again. By the six or seventh time, he seemed to be feeling a lot better.

Over the next few weeks, he continued doing it every night, more and more. The Nine Tails healed his wounds every time, so, at first, nobody really noticed any difference, but after about two weeks, some of them, like Sakura, Sasuke, Tsunade, and Kakashi were beginning to suspect something, when they saw how pale his skin was becoming. Not to mention the fact that he The Nine Tails was finding it harder to heal his wounds, as his strength was weakening. Tsunade was especially worried by how jumpy he seemed to be. It was a little_ too _jumpy, even for him.

Naruto cheerfully skipped to the bridge, spotting his teammates up ahead.

"Sakura-chaaaan!" he hollered, waving from a distance. As he approached them, he almost tripped, however, thankfully managed to regain his balance before actually doing so. He sighed in relief, for he didn't want them to see through his act. There was no way could let them to find out what he'd been doing to himself.

Sakura glanced up at him, a hint of concern in her eyes, while Sasuke stared him for a moment in shock, however, quickly looked away.

"Naruto, you look really pale," Sakura commented. "Are you feeling alright?"

He laughed nervously, giving a toothy grin. "As good as always. I feel perfect. Never better."

Sakura seemed unconvinced, but kept her opinion to herself. The past week had been the first time she'd ever really payed any attention to him, regarding concern, or any of the sort. Sasuke grumbled something beneath his breath, catching Naruto's attention.

"Got somthin' to say, Susuke?!" he shouted, slightly slurring, as he held up a fist.

"Tch, not to _you._" the Uchiha grunted, abruptly turning around. At that exact moment was when Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Yo." he eye-smiled.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're actually _early!_" Sakura commented, staring in shock along with Naruto. Sasuke even peeked a look as well.

"Can't a teacher be early once in while?" Kakashi replied, raising up an eye brow. "Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we?"

"What are we doing today?" Sakura wanted to know. Kakashi glanced over at Naruto, who seemed to be swaying.

"Well, today, we'll be helping some ladies with some weeds. Meet me at the Yamanaka flower shop. Ja ne."

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura trailed off into silence, when she realized it was too late, as he'd already disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She held up her fist, an evil glint in her eyes. "Tha-That jerk! HE ALWAYS DOES THAT!"

"So called 'teacher'!" added Naruto.

"Hn, let's go..." Sasuke grunted calmly, hiding his irritation.

"I'll show _him_." Sakura muttered darkly, as she and Naruto ran to catch up with their teammate, who had already started walking off.

"This sucks..." Naruto grumbled, picking through the weeds. "I want to be out, doing more A-Rank missions... Not these stupid kiddie ones."

"It's the Hokage's orders, so quit complaining." said Kakashi, matter-of-factly. "We take what we get."

Naruto shook his fists, growling.

"I'll show that old hag! I'm gonna dema..." he started to say, but before he could even finish his sentence, he fell back unconscious, fortunately to be caught by Sasuke. A sudden shriek of shock could be heard from Sakura, causing Kakashi to look up.

"Oh dear..." he whispered, as he put away his porn novel, jumping down from the tree branch he was setting on.

"Kakashi-sensei, we don't know what happened." Sakura told him, as he approached them. "He just suddenly passed out."

"I'll take him. Thank you, Sasuke." he said, lifting Naruto and placing him on his shoulder. "Sakura, I need you to go and inform lady Hokage about what's happened. Tell her to meet us at the Hospital."

"Hai!" Sakura nodded, before taking off. Sasuke stared at Kakashi for a long moment, unsure of what to think. Kakashi glanced down at him, causing him to look away.

"Sasuke, you're free to go. If you want, that is." he told him.

"I..." Sasuke started to say. "I want to go."

"Ah," Kakashi eye-smiled, mockingly. "so you _do_ care."

"Shut up!" the Uchiha retorted, turning around. "C'mon, let's just go..."

Kakashi's eye-smile still remained for a second, as he let out a small chuckle. Then he followed behind, as they made their way to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Sakura was just nearing the Hokage Mansion. Once she got to the correct room, she barged in, completely forgetting to knock. Tsunade immediately looked up, her fingers clasped in front of her mouth. Four other Jounin, who were standing in the room, also looked up.

"Hokage-sama!" she cried.

"Haven't you heard of knocking, girl?" she questioned. Sakura bowed, apologetically.

"I'm very sorry, but something is wrong with Naruto!" she explained.

"Is she talking about that nine tails kid...?" Kotetsu whispered to Izumo, who held up his hands to show that he too was unsure. Tsunade's eyes widened, as she shot up from her seat, and slammed her hand down on the desk, startling practically everyone in the room.

"What happened?!" she demanded. The pink haired Kunoichi visibly had tears in the corners of her eyes, struggling to find the right words.

"I'm not fully certain. He just suddenly passed out while we were on our mission. Kakashi-sensei wants you to meet her at the Hospital." she told her.

Tsunade bit the tip of her thumb for a moment, unsure of what to do. She then gazed around at the Jounin.

"Very well, you four are dismissed." she announced, walking towards the door. "Let's go, Shizune. Sakura, find Iruka and tell him to come to the hospital. After that, you're dismissed."

"I'm coming, Lady Tsunade!" said Shizune, following her master out the door. Sakura was left, clutching her chest, but waited not another moment, before making her way to the ninja academy. Everyone in the room looked at each other, slightly irritated by the events that'd just occurred. After about another minute, they decided to go ahead and leave.

_About Thirty Minutes Later, at Konoha Hospital_

"His blood levels appear to be very low." Tsunade explained. "There's only one thing I believe could've caused this. His left wrist shows remnants of scars, so there's a possibility he has been hurting himself. The loss of blood would also give explanation as to how pale he's been..."

She looked up at a nurse standing in the room. "Nezumi, take him to the infirmary."

"Understood." the Nurse bowed, as she stepped over and prepared to wheel Naruto's stretcher out of the room.

"Shizune, I want you to get some of the best medical ninja you know, and prepare to do a blood transfusion on him. Make fast work of it!" the Hokage ordered. Shizune put a hand on her forehead, in a military style fashion.

"H-hai!" she replied, making her way out the room. Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was going to long day...

_- End of Chapter -_

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